Living off campus: with freedom comes responsibility

By: Christina Kostic
Posted In: Opinion

I remember thinking as a sophomore at Salve that I wanted nothing more than to reside off campus and to live like a “real” adult. Sure, freshman year in the dorms was fun and exciting and unlike anything I had ever experienced thus far in my 19 years of life, but by the second year of dorm life. it was time for a change.

Junior year eventually came around-not a minute too soon- and three of my friends and I had everything figured out. The four of us would rent a house together off campus. Doesn’t that sound perfect? It would appear to be every young adult’s dream! Living with three of your best friends, what could possibly go wrong? Well, let’s just say, a lot.

Renting a property, let alone a two-story, four-bedroom two-bathroom house is a lot of work, especially for a group of college students in their early twenties who have never rented anything before.

All of a sudden you have to worry about paying bills and rent on time, making sure the garbage and recycling gets taken out to the curb, taking care of the dirty dishes in the sink, and of course, cleaning the house. on top of all of your classes, extracurriculars, internships, jobs and homework assignments.

Cleaning in a dorm room consists of making your bed, putting your clothes away, and occasionally dusting off your desk and quick vacuuming of your tiny room, (and that’s speaking for the super-tidy people!) It’s overwhelming to transition from worrying about the cleanliness of one room, to the cleanliness of an entire household. Scrubbing toilets and showers and mopping and sweeping the floors, oh my!

But hey, I don’t want to make it seem like living off campus is all bad-believe me, it’s not! No RA’s, no random room inspections, no rules. well, sort of.

When you live on campus, it’s expected that the dorms will be a little rowdy; after all, we’re college students! However, as soon as your feet step off campus ground, it’s a different story.

Careful, you can’t laugh too loud. No, you can’t stand outside at night and make a call on your cell phone. What? You want to have a house warming party and play a board game with your windows open because it’s hot and your house has no air conditioning?? No can do!!! Believe me, I know.

The first weekend my friends and I were living off campus our junior year, we had the cops called on us because we were being too loud. I’m sorry, but it was a Friday night at 10 p.m. and we were simply playing a board game! (And no, I’m not joking.) Oops, my bad. I was under the impression that playing a board game in my living room was not against the law. I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t have been a problem in the dorms.

And then there was the time our dryer caught on fire because the landlord had neglected to make sure the dryer hose was ever cleaned in the years he had been renting the property.

Oh, but I digress.

So, you’re probably reading this and wondering. what exactly are the benefits to living off campus? Well, for students who are of legal drinking age, it’s nice to be able to have the occasional drink. As all Salve students know, alcohol is a no-no on campus. Also, you can have candles, Christmas lights, flags on your wall and all those other forbidden decorations.

Living off campus is also great for students who are tired of getting by on microwavable crap food or dining at Miley. Yeah, after two years of that it’s nothing short of fabulous to have access to a stove and oven to create your own culinary masterpieces.

If drinking and eating aren’t your thing, (you’d be.unique.) Just kidding. There are good reasons to live off campus aside from alcohol and good food. Seriously, living off campus is an amazing experience, and one that should be lived by every college student before they graduate.

It prepares you for life after you graduate. It helps you to understand what it takes to run a household. It teaches you responsibility and how to integrate yourself into a neighborhood. I can’t imagine not living off campus now.

I’m 22 years old and in my senior year at Salve. It’s my second year living off campus. This year I chose to live in an apartment, (less cleaning) and I live with one of my friends. So far so good, although it’s only the second week of school. I’m sure there will be many trials and tribulations to come-but I wouldn’t have it any other way.